[MICHAELSD]

I don't care about having ANC because I prefer to have some awareness of my surroundings. I know AirPods Pro has Transparency Mode and the option to disable ANC, so it’s not a big deal either way — it just doesn’t factor into my consideration of Powerbeats Pro vs AirPods Pro.

I can see how ANC would be useful to somebody constantly using transit or commuting in a city, but I prefer to keep myself open to thought/conversation the few times I use transit throughout the year. I also am not a fan of the sensation ANC brings about, though it’s minimized with Apple’s implementation (which still blocks out a lot of noise) as opposed to Sony or Bose.

 

[MICHAELSD]

That being said, I’ve read/watched a lot of reviews and the sound quality seems to be subjective but the general consensus is that they both sound almost identical, with most reviewers noting “better, deeper” bass on AirPods Pro. This goes against the measurements, so it seems like more people are getting a better fit with AirPods Pro and that the adaptive EQ is doing its job.

Strictly looking at the measurements, I’d say Powerbeats Pro more closely matches my preferences but I wouldn’t be surprised if in real-world use AirPods Pro has a cleaner overall sound.

 

[SilverEars]

That being said, I’ve read/watched a lot of reviews and the sound quality seems to be subjective but the general consensus is that they both sound almost identical, with most reviewers noting “better, deeper” bass on AirPods Pro. This goes against the measurements, so it seems like more people are getting a better fit with AirPods Pro and that the adaptive EQ is doing its job.

Strictly looking at the measurements, I’d say Powerbeats Pro more closely matches my preferences but I wouldn’t be surprised if in real-world use AirPods Pro has a cleaner overall sound.

The graphs I've seen of the PowerBeats Pro, there was spikes on the upper-mids. From that, I expect vocals to come forward pretty sharply. AirPods measurements looked better balanced.

 

[MICHAELSD]

The graphs I've seen of the PowerBeats Pro, there was spikes on the upper-mids. From that, I expect vocals to come forward pretty sharply. AirPods measurements looked better balanced.

An upper mid boost on the Sennheiser Momentum brought a noticeable level of clarity to vocals, so I’d expect the same here.

 

[sxr71]

I realize APP SQ is enhanced due to it's ANC. ANC increases clarity from reduction of noise. So, I find SQ to be a good with ANC.

When you are out and about, it's noisy everywhere. ANC increases SQ from these environments.

I find it most useful at the gym. It's a night and day difference from pasive isolation at the gym. It's really effective at drowning out noise at the gym for some reason.

I’ve been an “audiophile” for a long time now. I used to be a “purist”.

In time I realized that nothing improves actual S/N ratio or dynamic range better than ANC.

You can chase ideal conditions and turn off your A/C, your fridge and sit there with open back headphones trying to obsessively maximize your dynamic range which we cannot in practice even realize a fraction of what redbook CD delivers. All the while chasing hirez obscure formats etc etc.

In the end comfort, convenience and practical solutions to the problem of enjoying music everywhere wins over every other aspiration of purism or whatever. ANC/DSP are really more important than almost any other aspect of sound equipment anymore.

 

[MICHAELSD]

I’ve been an “audiophile” for a long time now. I used to be a “purist”.

In time I realized that nothing improves actual S/N ratio or dynamic range better than ANC.

You can chase ideal conditions and turn off your A/C, your fridge and sit there with open back headphones trying to obsessively maximize your dynamic range which we cannot in practice even realize a fraction of what redbook CD delivers. All the while chasing hirez obscure formats etc etc.

In the end comfort, convenience and practical solutions to the problem of enjoying music everywhere wins over every other aspiration of purism or whatever. ANC/DSP are really more important than almost any other aspect of sound equipment anymore.

I’ve realized I’ll enjoy versatile Bluetooth headphones more than I’ll enjoy hi-fi wired headphones plugged into a lossless source. Music sounds better when it can be brought anywhere rather than chained to a desk where we’re obsessing over every detail of the setup.

 

[SilverEars]

I’ve been an “audiophile” for a long time now. I used to be a “purist”.

In time I realized that nothing improves actual S/N ratio or dynamic range better than ANC.

You can chase ideal conditions and turn off your A/C, your fridge and sit there with open back headphones trying to obsessively maximize your dynamic range which we cannot in practice even realize a fraction of what redbook CD delivers. All the while chasing hirez obscure formats etc etc.

In the end comfort, convenience and practical solutions to the problem of enjoying music everywhere wins over every other aspiration of purism or whatever. ANC/DSP are really more important than almost any other aspect of sound equipment anymore.

Exactly. It's funny how we discuss extremely low noise level in the circuits, and yet we don't really think about the ambient noise all around us all the time. It is well known that our ears adjust to normalize what we sense in the extremes. Like how our vision changes the fishbowl effect of lenses or our ears adjust to peaky or dipped weirdness in the frequency response over time. Same goes for noise level. Our ears are used to the ambient noise level everywhere we go that we don't think about it much. This is why people think passive isolation is effective, which isn't completely true. Passive isolation still lets in good amount of noise. By reducing noise level with ANC, the background becomes much more black, and contrast of sound we hear relative to background becomes much more significant, or dynamic range becomes significant.

Let's say that we are inside the cabin of an aircraft, and the cabin noise is 80dB, and we are trying to listen to what is being said with the cheap earbuds handed out by the airline. In some ways our ears will try to adjust, but I think there will also be stress on our brain trying to process what's not coherent due to such high level of noise.

Like you point out, solution is simple. Just provide ANC to the earphones, and problems of ambient noise solved. So this solution causes high convenience as we can block out noise anywhere we go, and we can enjoy clear sound anywhere we are at.

 

[SilverEars]

An upper mid boost on the Sennheiser Momentum brought a noticeable level of clarity to vocals, so I’d expect the same here.

Yes, but it also bring noticeable harshness with certain recordings. Some people are quite sensitive to that region, although I'm really not, I do get uncomfortable with that area spiking with certain tracks. This is what I disliked about the Sony MH755, it's got that sharp upper-mids bump. I like certain amount of bump there (which is necessary for mids to sound proper), but not too much. I think Harman is approximately what I should shoot for.

 

[MacedonianHero]

I don't care about having ANC because I prefer to have some awareness of my surroundings. I know AirPods Pro has Transparency Mode and the option to disable ANC, so it’s not a big deal either way — it just doesn’t factor into my consideration of Powerbeats Pro vs AirPods Pro.

I can see how ANC would be useful to somebody constantly using transit or commuting in a city, but I prefer to keep myself open to thought/conversation the few times I use transit throughout the year. I also am not a fan of the sensation ANC brings about, though it’s minimized with Apple’s implementation (which still blocks out a lot of noise) as opposed to Sony or Bose.

Most NC IEMs, you can turn that off or down (like the AirPods). That said, it is a MUST for me for flying...I love that "cone of silence".

 

[MICHAELSD]

Most NC IEMs, you can turn that off or down (like the AirPods). That said, it is a MUST for me for flying...I love that "cone of silence".

I got a chance to try AirPods Pro, and I wasn’t as impressed as I thought I’d be. Firstly, the fit is less transparent than I expected: you can definitely tell when they’re in your ears, unlike AirPods (at times) or Powerbeats Pro. The sound quality was perfectly adequate, but there was no particular aspect of the audio that stood out or blew me away. I was expecting more out of a Pro model. It does faithfully reproduce the entire frequency range for the most part though, it’s just not particularly detailed or exciting. Maybe if I had more time to test I’d have a better experience and grow to enjoy them. For now though my impression is that even first-generation AirPods have a punchier bass, but it isn’t as deep. The mid-range and treble are also more hyped on the original AirPods. ANC is very impressive for an earbud of this size, but it’s not as good as Solo Pro — which is understandable since it’s a full-sized (portable) headphone. I should note that I tried the ear tip test and didn’t get an adequate seal in my left ear, which may have impacted my testing.

Powerbeats Pro on the other hand had a noticeably deeper bass with a brighter treble and a more exciting mid-range as well as a more open soundstage. The bass on AirPods Pro seemed recessed in comparison, and Powerbeats Pro only has a mild sub-bass boost. Regardless of that, it’s still a bit of a toss-up which has better sound quality but upon first impression Powerbeats Pro seemed cleaner. Neither are phenomenal high-fidelity headphones, but they don’t have to be. Also of note is that Powerbeats Pro has minimal passive noise isolation, which is useful for fitness use and feels like more of a direct upgrade to AirPods. In fact, AirPods Pro has a relatively high level of passive noise isolation. They’re a different product than AirPods, so it’s understandable that it isn’t technically a third-generation product.

The sound quality is slightly better with ANC disabled. Transparency Mode works like magic. It isn’t 100% as natural as simply pausing music on a regular set of AirPods, but it’s close. Probably 95% transparent.

Solo Pro is the most underrated product out of the headphones that Apple/Beats released this year. It has the best sound quality of the three across the frequency range, with superb ANC performance. Still, I’m not sure I would choose it for the same reasons I would choose Powerbeats Pro or AirPods Pro. I’m trying to justify a place for it, it’s definitely among the best Bluetooth headphones I’ve heard.

 

[SparkOnShore]

I got a chance to try AirPods Pro, and I wasn’t as impressed as I thought I’d be. Firstly, the fit is less transparent than I expected: you can definitely tell when they’re in your ears, unlike AirPods (at times) or Powerbeats Pro. The sound quality was perfectly adequate, but there was no particular aspect of the audio that stood out or blew me away. I was expecting more out of a Pro model. It does faithfully reproduce the entire frequency range for the most part though, it’s just not particularly detailed or exciting. Maybe if I had more time to test I’d have a better experience and grow to enjoy them. For now though my impression is that even first-generation AirPods have a punchier bass, but it isn’t as deep. The mid-range and treble are also more hyped on the original AirPods. ANC is very impressive for an earbud of this size, but it’s not as good as Solo Pro — which is understandable since it’s a full-sized (portable) headphone. I should note that I tried the ear tip test and didn’t get an adequate seal in my left ear, which may have impacted my testing.

Powerbeats Pro on the other hand had a noticeably deeper bass with a brighter treble and a more exciting mid-range as well as a more open soundstage. The bass on AirPods Pro seemed recessed in comparison, and Powerbeats Pro only has a mild sub-bass boost. Regardless of that, it’s still a bit of a toss-up which has better sound quality but upon first impression Powerbeats Pro seemed cleaner. Neither are phenomenal high-fidelity headphones, but they don’t have to be. Also of note is that Powerbeats Pro has minimal passive noise isolation, which is useful for fitness use and feels like more of a direct upgrade to AirPods. In fact, AirPods Pro has a relatively high level of passive noise isolation. They’re a different product than AirPods, so it’s understandable that it isn’t technically a third-generation product.

The sound quality is slightly better with ANC disabled. Transparency Mode works like magic. It isn’t 100% as natural as simply pausing music on a regular set of AirPods, but it’s close. Probably 95% transparent.

Solo Pro is the most underrated product out of the headphones that Apple/Beats released this year. It has the best sound quality of the three across the frequency range, with superb ANC performance. Still, I’m not sure I would choose it for the same reasons I would choose Powerbeats Pro or AirPods Pro. I’m trying to justify a place for it, it’s definitely among the best Bluetooth headphones I’ve heard.

I agree with you on the Solo Pro. Their sound quality is unique. One of the best headphones ever heard. But unfortunately I cannot use! After 10 minutes, my whole head is getting disturbed and left ear really hurting! Also headband is rather disturbing and painful. It’s so tight on my head, you cannot imagine! The Studio3 are million times comfier to me! It’s a pity, I cannot use a so good sounding headphone...

 

[wlai]

I love my APP with one exception: They aren't super secure, particularly if I'm chewing it works itself loose way too easily. But I've also had one fall out while boarding on the jetway, could have been bad.

So I read on this thread about the effect of the foam mod w.r.t. the NC mic, and was wondering has there been any updates or development, such as 3rd party custom tips that folks have tried?

 

[Pro-Jules]

Does any of Tidal's 96k 24 bit Hi-Res quality get past Apples out of date "best effort" AAC Bluetooth codec?

Is it reproduced as 44.1k 24 bit?

Or 44.1k 16 bit?

Or

Worse?

I am trying to advise an Airpod Pro owner if Tidal is worth using over Spotify.

 

[SparkOnShore]

Does any of Tidal's 96k 24 bit Hi-Res quality get past Apples out of date "best effort" AAC Bluetooth codec?

Is it reproduced as 44.1k 24 bit?

Or 44.1k 16 bit?

Or

Worse?

I am trying to advise an Airpod Pro owner if Tidal is worth using over Spotify.

Apple’s AAC is not at all out of date! This is just your own humble opinion. AAC by Apple is the best audio over Bluetooth. All these Tidal 96k 24 bit etc etc, is proven scientifically that they cannot be heard by a normal human ear, so there is no need to use. Apple AAC is the best!! You go on pay for Tidal though, if you wish...Cheers

 

[Pro-Jules]

Apple’s AAC is not at all out of date! This is just your own humble opinion. AAC by Apple is the best audio over Bluetooth. All these Tidal 96k 24 bit etc etc, is proven scientifically that they cannot be heard by a normal human ear, so there is no need to use. Apple AAC is the best!! You go on pay for Tidal though, if you wish...Cheers

Pffft!

So that's a no to hi-res then?

"Designed as a successor to the MP3, AAC files come in a similar range of quality options. Even the Bluetooth version of the codec is highly flexible, as we'll see in a moment. The AAC audio format supports audio quality up to 24-bit 96kHz, but in the Bluetooth space we are limited slightly below CD quality at best."

LDAC & APTX HD = better but Apple and Bose dont do them yet. Not cool.